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Bell Announces Role for Ozark Facility in Proposal for US Navy Trainer Replacement

Fort Worth, TX (18 April 2019) – Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, announced today that, should the Bell 407GXi be selected for the US Navy Advanced Helicopter Trainer program, the company plans to conduct final assembly of the aircraft in Ozark, Alabama. Bell submitted its proposal to the Navy on April 2. The Navy is seeking to acquire 130 aircraft.

“Bell is proud to be the only U.S.-based manufacturer to participate in the Navy Advanced Helicopter Trainer competition,” said Mitch Snyder, President and CEO. “Our Ozark team has proven their capabilities delivering Bell 407s to the Navy through the Fire Scout program. We look forward to providing a safe, technologically advanced aircraft for the next generation of Naval aviators.”

The Bell 407GXi is outfitted with the new Rolls-Royce M250-C47E/4 dual channel FADEC turbine engine, delivering exceptional hot and high performance, fuel efficiency and the ability to cruise at 133 kts/246 km/h.

The aircraft also features Garmin’s G1000H NXi Integrated Flight Deck, which delivers enhanced situational awareness and reduces pilot workload by delivering information at a glance, such as Helicopter Synthetic Vision TechnologyTM with Terrain and Obstacle Warning, improving safety for the future of naval flight training.

Thinking above and beyond is what we do. For more than 80 years, we’ve been reimagining the experience of flight – and where it can take us. We are pioneers. We were the first to break the sound barrier and to certify a commercial helicopter. We were aboard NASA’s first lunar mission and brought advanced tiltrotor systems to market. Today, we’re defining the future of on-demand mobility.

Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas – as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Textron Inc., – we have strategic locations around the globe. And with nearly one quarter of our workforce having served, helping our military achieve their missions is a passion of ours.

Textron Inc. is a multi-industry company that leverages its global network of aircraft, defense, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron is known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell Helicopter, Cessna, Beechcraft, Hawker, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO, Greenlee, Arctic Cat, Textron Systems, and TRU Simulation + Training. For more information, visit: www.textron.com.

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements which may project revenues or describe strategies, goals, outlook or other non-historical matters; these statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the risk that the U.S. Navy will not choose the Bell 407GXi for the Navy Advanced Helicopter Trainer program; changing priorities or reductions in the U.S. Government defense budget, including those related to military operations in foreign countries; changes in worldwide economic or political conditions that impact demand for our products, interest rates or foreign exchange rates; our ability to perform as anticipated and to control costs under contracts with the U.S. Government; the U.S. Government’s ability to unilaterally modify or terminate its contracts with us for the U.S. Government’s convenience or for our failure to perform, to change applicable procurement and accounting policies, or, under certain circumstances, to withhold payment or suspend or debar us as a contractor eligible to receive future contract awards; changes in foreign military funding priorities or budget constraints and determinations, or changes in government regulations or policies on the export and import of military and commercial products; and performance issues with key suppliers, subcontractors or business partners.